Lost Cause Wrestling Alliance
Lost Cause Wrestling Alliance (LCWA) is a backyard wrestling federation opened by Benny Slater based in Dapto, New South Wales, Australia. History Based in the south coast of NSW, Australia, Lost Cause Wrestling Alliance began as a brainchild of a young Benny Slater after his debut match at South Coast Wrestling Syndicate (SCWS), shortly after created his own federation. Slater, Adam Chunky, Micheal M and MC Cooper became the four original members. In its early years, LCWA was seen as the "little brother" of SCWS with the four members making appearances there as well as working smaller localised shows in Dapto. It soon became apparent that LCWA's fame would eclipse its that of SCWS. Although LCWA was not represented at the supershow event Auzfest 4, Slater and Chunky both made their mark at ITWA/WFE's supershow, Trampfest, with Slater facing Chris Cryptic on day 1 and Gene Knite and AC Nirvana on day 2. The performance of the two at Trampfest generated profuse interest in LCWA, and only months later they hosted their first supershow, Wollongong Bash, where Sydney-based wrestlers journeyed to LCWA. The supershows continued to roll as many well known Australian yarders made their way to LCWA, Cryptic, Brynx, Nightmare, Underminer, Curt Unearth, and Chalis all appeared at the federation regularly between 2007 and 2008. This led to one of the most popular shows to be produced on the south coast of Australia, South Coast Fest. This event marked the coming of age for LCWA, with TVW's Ruthless Ron headlining against Chunky, Slater taking on Nirvana, and Micheal M wrestling Corey Bomberry. Brynx, Nero, Nightmare, Danny Fiasco and Donni Sidewinder also made up the card. LCWA was at a high-water mark in mid 2008, with Ilawarra Wrestle-athon 2. This saw Ron return to along with his younger brother Zane. The show was eventful taking place in the flooded backyard of Slater, which had drainage issues due to a week of straight rain. Slater was infamously powerdrived off the base into a giant puddle at this show. Following this show, operations went on hiatus, with Cryptic winning the rights to LCWA in a storyline culmulating at the To the Depths event, where he defeated Slater. LCWA was then invited to join the newly resurrected In Your House Wrestling Alliance (IYHWA). This marked the end of the first version of LCWA with no events occuring for several months. while the south coast yarders Brynx, Adam Chunky, Nightmare and Benny Slater wrestled at Sydney shows under XAW and IYHWA. Slater and Adam Chunky embraced the honor of competing at the last official SCWS show entitled, Gimmickfest, with Slater taking on Nightmare and Fiasco in a Triple Threat match, and Chunky facing Zane in one of the hardest hitting matches seen on the south coast. The SCWS base was dismantled after this show, along with many of the original SCWS cast. This at the time was considered the end of yarding on the south coast. After several months, Slater (not caring for silly storylines) hosted a return show, Practice Days. The event also introduced a young Jonathan Cross and a rejuvenated Cooper to the LCWA roster. With the closure of SCWS, Brynx joined the LCWA roster permanantly after wrestling in his debut against Cooper at Where's the VB. He was welcomed by cooper; Being dunked on his neck via an omega driver. Benny Slater defeated Jimmy Genocide and Jonathan Cross squared off against Adam Chunky. Through 2009/2010 LCWA hit another high water mark, holding shows every two weeks and releasing mv's frequently. During this time, LCWA was one of the few active feds in the country with IYHWA going through growing pains and SCWS having been closed for good. Noteable shows included the Mitsuharu Misawa tribute show as well as Torunament of No remorse V. Jonathan Cross became a key player in LCWA, defeating Newcastle wrestler James Derringer, Brynx and Champion Benny Slater at the torunament to capture the LCWA title. In December of 2009 LCWA had it's most noteable show in South coast fest 2. The event had much anticipation after the impact of the first south coast fest. This show saw the return of HVWA stalwarts Brandon X and Gene Knite as well as VCW's Scott henson and Siege. The show had a dramatic twist as the show was uprooted and the final 3 matches of day two were held at IYHWA. Ruthless Ron main evented against Chris Cryptic. LCWA took one last road trip north to Sydney to finally lay the rivalry between the South coast and Sydney to rest, Jonathan Cross, Benny Slater, Adam Chunky, Nightmare and Brynx took on IYHWA's team of AC Nirvana, Underminer, Tommy Taboo, Curt Unearth and Chris Cryptic. After leading 2-0 Chunky and Benny Slater fell to Taboo and Unearth respectively, resulting in a tie breaking match between Cryptic and Brynx. After a fierce contest Cryptic finally pinned Brynx via a roll up. The following day Cryptic and Ac Nirvana bested Benny Slater and Adam Chunky, this would mark the end for Slater and Chunky, the two turning on each other after the loss. Brynx and Nightmare were invited to wrestle at IYHWA's final show. Both publicly stated their gratitude to be able to represent the south coast one final time. They competed in a 4 way match against Ethan Black and Chalis. Chalis was ultimatelty victorious, pinning Nightmare after hitting the Riccola Bomb. LCWA finally shut it's doors after 5 years in 2012. LCWA never had a "final show" It's last noted event was titled Grapscallions and appropriatly featured MC Cooper and Benny Slater in it's main event. Legacy LCWA during it's time produced some of the greatest matches in ABYW history. Drawing influence from Victorian feds such as YWF and TVW, two feds noted for athletisism and strike based offense, LCWA had an adaptable roster that evolved over time to work a variety of match structures. During it's time, LCWA hosted over 100 shows, as well as booking some of the most noteable talent from around the country as well as 3 international wrestlers (K-man, Siege and Scott Henson) Although living the majority of it's lifespan in the shadow of larger more established feds (IYHWA and SCWS) LCWA gained a following both in Australia and Overseas, their mv's were generally met with positivity by online forum posters, without ever breaking into "youtube stardom" their sydney counterparts would enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgohLccQ6gs&list=UUD1Laa8uaRBAf7YEOa9PWGw